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I wasn't exactly sure how to word this, but when I lived in Raleigh I was surprised by its walkability. OK yes, I just checked and it has a Walk Score of 30. It was also the only place I lived where I had to own a car, but I mostly only used it to get to work.
I lived in Cameron Village, which is a walkable neighborhood one mile from Downtown. And then beyond that you had the NCSU area with loads of stuff to walk to. So just right there you had 3 walkable neighborhoods all connected to each other.
What cities surprised you with their walkability? Particularly cities with heavy sprawl where you must have a car, but would be surprised to find out that you don't really need it other than for your commute. They don't all have to be connected on top of each other like my example. A short distance is fine, or if it has good bus lines that run between the areas.
Was just hoping to hear about some cities that usually aren't even mentioned in the car free discussions but have some neat areas. For example, I was looking at San Antonio recently but I'm not sure what else they have besides Downtown. Sometimes when you think of these types of cities, you imagine having to drive just to go to the grocery store or Starbucks!
Most cities I'd imagine. Historic cores are naturally built that way. Houston has downtown, midtown, and the medical center all connected by street grid and rail. My hometown of Baton Rouge is not thought of as urban or walkable but it's downtown is connected to LSU by an urban neighborhood called south Baton Rouge.
Hmm, so Jacksonville could fall into this category. In 1930 the city had 59 miles of streetcar for an area of 26 sq miles, and nearly 20 million passengers a year. So with such an extensive transit network, there were a lot of neighborhoods built for walking around those streetcar corridors.
That said, present day Jax's density in those areas is only a fraction of what it was, and the walkable neighborhoods while close by and/or connected don't transition seamlessly into one another. I'd say the longest "walkable" straight-line would be approximately 5 miles starting on the northern tip of Riverside Ave in Brooklyn, passing through Riverside (and switching over to St Johns Avenue where it takes over for Riverside Ave as the main street) then Avondale, then finally ending up at the southern tip of Fairfax. That passes through 4 pretty walkable historic neighborhoods, however at least half of that 2 mile stretch is basically residential in between the commercial areas. The saddest part, however, is that the corridor I mentioned connects straight into downtown Jax but I couldn't even use the downtown portion in my "walkable" area.
As for cities besides Jax, your description made me think of Nashville. It has some pretty good walkable and vibrant neighborhoods but as a whole it may be the most sprawling metro of its size.
Columbus fits this description very well. The city sprawls over 215 sq. miles. Its relatively expansive land area is due to strategic annexation that occurred largely between the 1950's-1970's in an effort to retain tax revenue during a time when most cities in the nation were declining.
The central/core neighborhoods of Columbus are urban and highly walkable for the most part and include downtown/arena district, University District, Victorian Village, Short North, Harrison West, Old North Columbus, Weinland Park, Clintonville, Italian Village, German Village/Brewery District, Merion Village, Olde Towne East etc. These neighborhoods are almost all centered off High Street, lay east of the Scioto/Olentangy Rivers and west of I-71 in a long connected corridor (the exception being Olde Towne East and the rest of the Near East neighborhoods which are just east of I-71).
Northland, essentially suburbia at one point that transitioned into a fairly low-income and high crime part of the city, home to Columbus's large Somalian/Ethiopian population: https://www.instantstreetview.com/@4...,8.32h,0.7p,0z
Columbus fits this description very well. The city sprawls over 215 sq. miles. Its relatively expansive land area is due to strategic annexation that occurred largely between the 1950's-1970's in an effort to retain tax revenue during a time when most cities in the nation were declining.
The central/core neighborhoods of Columbus are urban and highly walkable for the most part and include downtown/arena district, University District, Victorian Village, Short North, Harrison West, Old North Columbus, Weinland Park, Clintonville, Italian Village, German Village/Brewery District, Merion Village, Olde Towne East etc. These neighborhoods are almost all centered off High Street, lay east of the Scioto/Olentangy Rivers and west of I-71 in a long connected corridor (the exception being Olde Towne East and the rest of the Near East neighborhoods which are just east of I-71).
Northland, essentially suburbia at one point that transitioned into a fairly low-income and high crime part of the city, home to Columbus's large Somalian/Ethiopian population: https://www.instantstreetview.com/@4...,8.32h,0.7p,0z
That's interesting about Columbus, I had always heard they had a good nightlife scene and some urban areas. Raleigh and Columbus seem kind of similar as it is...with both following similar growth patterns, both dominated by a major college, and both only have hockey as the pro sports team. Thanks for the links.
Atlanta is referred to as a car-dependent city with a Walk Score of 48 but has a chain of neighborhoods with some similarly linked like Jacksonville that were "streetcar suburbs" back in the day, and yet still have a connective feel today where one can walk/bike between them. From the east moving from East Atlanta through Edgewood, Kirkwood, Glenwood Park, Reynoldstown, Cabbagetown and Grant Park on into downtown and northward through Old Fourth Ward, Little Five Points, Virginia Highland, Midtown and Atlantic Station.
That's interesting about Columbus, I had always heard they had a good nightlife scene and some urban areas. Raleigh and Columbus seem kind of similar as it is...with both following similar growth patterns, both dominated by a major college, and both only have hockey as the pro sports team. Thanks for the links.
Anytime.
In my opinion. Columbus has a pretty good night life scene for a metro of 2 million. Although a mid-sized city by all accounts Columbus has its urban gems for sure, like German Village.
I've never been to Raleigh so cannot compare but I hear positive things.
Columbus gets compared to Austin of the 1980's-1990's a lot. Both progressive LGBT friendly cities in otherwise very red states, giant public universities near their downtowns, burgeoning tech industries, state capitals, sprawling city limits etc.
The Washington DC area sprawls very far out, especially the exurbs, however there are many mixed use neighborhoods and very urban environment both in the District and nearby parts of Maryland and Virginia.
In my opinion. Columbus has a pretty good night life scene for a metro of 2 million. Although a mid-sized city by all accounts Columbus has its urban gems for sure, like German Village.
I've never been to Raleigh so cannot compare but I hear positive things.
Columbus gets compared to Austin of the 1980's-1990's a lot. Both progressive LGBT friendly cities in otherwise very red states, giant public universities near their downtowns, burgeoning tech industries, state capitals, sprawling city limits etc.
You consider Ohio to be a ''very red state"? I wouldn't say Columbus is an island of liberalism in a sea of conservatism. Austin, TX, has a much better claim to that statement.
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